Harriet Beecher Stowe was a deeply committed Christian who believed that religious faith would be a major factor in the abolition of slavery – which, of course, it was. Her most famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, repeatedly underlines the redemptive power of faith in God – from Christ-like characters who represent God’s angelic love on earth to others who desperately need that love. The novel also strongly suggests that Christianity is not meant to be legalistic. Both the stern northern abolitionists, who turn religion into a series of duties, and the southern slave owners, who use contorted interpretations of the Bible to excuse their practices, are condemned as foolish. They believe that religion is a set of laws, and the novel asserts that true faith is a pure, simple, childlike love.
Uncle Tom's Cabin Theme of Religion
Harriet Beecher Stowe was a deeply committed Christian who believed that religious faith would be a major factor in the abolition of slavery – which, of course, it was. Her most famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, repeatedly underlines the redemptive power of faith in God – from Christ-like characters who represent God’s angelic love on earth to others who desperately need that love. The novel also strongly suggests that Christianity is not meant to be legalistic. Both the stern northern abolitionists, who turn religion into a series of duties, and the southern slave owners, who use contorted interpretations of the Bible to excuse their practices, are condemned as foolish. They believe that religion is a set of laws, and the novel asserts that true faith is a pure, simple, childlike love.